


They Save the World

by zhennie



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Gen, Phil!feels, but no dice, villain!Avengers, well-meaning villains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-11
Updated: 2012-07-11
Packaged: 2017-11-09 16:13:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/457430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zhennie/pseuds/zhennie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everything they do from that moment forward is for Coulson. If that means that they need to be more than heroes, than so be it. They'll be more than heroes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	They Save the World

They’re not heroes. They haven’t been, for a very long time now. Stark Tower still rises above the city, dominating the skyline, but it has been a very long time since the people of New York have looked to it as a symbol of hope. Now, they don’t know where to look. 

It’s more than half his fault if they are pointing fingers, Tony knows. He’s always been the crazy idea guy, so it made sense that the crazy idea came from him, spilling out of his lips among whatever incoherent babble had come out of his mouth. He had been grieving then, they all had. He had watched, as Clint walked up to the podium, a wrinkled piece of paper in his hands.

“Phil Coulson is—was—” Clint had started, his voice catching in his throat before he cut off, abruptly. He had been silent, and then ducked his head, and turned, walking over to the coffin, the dozens of flowers surrounding it. He had made an abortive gesture, reaching towards the coffin, before Natasha had stood, suddenly, her body stiff. She walked over to Clint, placing one slender hand on his shoulder and standing with him, just for a second, before gently wrangling the paper out of Clint’s hands and taking his place at the podium.

“Phil Coulson was one of the best men I ever knew,” Natasha had said, not looking at the paper, “he was loyal and brave, and he believed in heroes. But more than that, he was a hero. He was more than a man, he was an Avenger, the best Avenger.” 

Tony’s eyes had blurred, he remembered, and he had looked up, at the light scattering down through the glass ceiling of the church, a blooming flower. It was the light prickling his eyes that made him tear up, Tony maintained. It was the sun, not Natasha’s speech or Clint’s breakdown. Pepper had pressed against him, one hand on his arm, her head turned into his shoulder. 

Steve had said something, after that, and he had said something, and Fury too. Tony can’t quite remember anymore. What would Coulson say now, if he knew what the Avengers had become? What would he say if he knew just what they were willing to do? It would be easy to say he would be disappointed, perhaps. But then again, they had all done it for him. 

“We can’t be heroes,” Tony had said, argued, later, “heroes can’t ever make the scales balance. More people die than we can save.” 

“If we’re not heroes,” Steve had said, “then what did Coulson die for?” 

“I’m not a hero,” Bruce had said, “I tried, but the Other Guy never was.” 

“We must be heroes,” Thor had said, “for good shall triumph over evil.” 

“Hero or not,” Natasha had said, “my ledger gets redder and redder every day.” 

“Coulson wanted us to save the world,” Clint had said, quietly above the argument that had broken out, “he would have wanted us to save the world, no matter what. So for Coulson, we should save the world—however we can.” No one had argued with that. 

The first thing they had done as non-heroes was find Loki. Thor had looked away as the rest of them had dealt with the trickster god, but he hadn’t stopped his teammates, either. His brother had made his choice, Thor had told them later, and he had made his. 

They were still the Avengers, and they did just that. They avenged wrongs and saved the world in their own way. They killed villains and gave orders until their hands were dripping with blood and the world bowed at their feet. They killed those who killed, and dealt their own form of justice, and the world was better for it. 

SHIELD called them villains. 

“Is this what Coulson would have wanted?” Fury had boomed at them, as the Helicarrier began to fall from the sky once more, as the Hulk roared, his cry echoing through the sky, as Thor called thunder upon them and Natasha, Clint, and Steve downed SHIELD agents like bowling pins. 

“Yes,” Tony had said, repulsors blasting as he floated above the chaos, “this is exactly what he would have wanted. He wanted us to save the world.” 

So they haven’t been heroes in a very long time, but that is alright, Tony supposes, because they save the world, in their own way. Tony Stark controls the networked world, and Iron Man enforces it. Bruce Banner and the Hulk destroy entire towns to build them up again. Captain America throws his shield and reminds them what kind of world they are fighting for. Black Widow catches those who would stop them in their mission. Thor strikes terror and calls warning from the sky, and Clint holds his bow steady, and shoots down their enemies.

Just the way Coulson would have wanted them to.


End file.
